“He disciplines
us for our good,
that we may
share His
holiness.”
Hebrews 12:10b
“Consider it
pure joy, my
brothers,
whenever you
face trials of
many kinds,
because you know
that the testing
of your faith
develops
perseverance.
Perseverance
must finish its
work so that you
may be mature
and complete,
not lacking
anything.” James
1:2-4He
disciplines us
for our good
that we may
share His
holiness. I
don’t know about
you, but that’s
what I want. I
want His
holiness. I want
perseverance to
finish its work
in me so that I
may be mature
and complete,
not lacking
anything. I want
to bring God
glory in all I
do, say, think
and feel.
So, my friends
when you
encounter
difficulties
remember; God
allows you to
hunger so He can
feed you. He
wants nothing
more than for us
to share His
holiness. We are
created in His
image and we
have the Holy
Spirit inside of
us and Jesus
walks beside us
every step of
the way. Trust
Him and believe
Him, He is the
same yesterday,
today and
tomorrow, He
will not leave
us or forsake
us. He will not
fail us. Where
ever He brings
us, He can keep
us. He will feed
us.
May 18, 2006
Deuteronomy
8:2-3.
The setting:
Israel is at the
Jordan River
preparing to
cross over into
the Promised
Land. The people
of Israel had
come full
circle. They had
been here before
and had made a
choice not to
trust and
believe God.
They chose to
believe man--the
10 spies that
said they
couldn’t make it
in the new,
promised land.
Because of their
choice, God made
them wander in
the wilderness
for 40 years.
The adults would
miss out on the
Promised Land
and the children
would have to
wait forty years
to enter in.
During that 40
years God
provided for
them. Here in
Deuteronomy,
they are
remembering
their wilderness
experience.
“And
you shall
[earnestly]
remember all the
way which the
Lord your God
led you these 40
years in the
wilderness, to
humble you and
to prove you, to
know what was in
your [mind and]
heart, whether
you would keep
His commandments
or not. And He
humbled you and
allowed you to
hunger and fed
you with
manna….”
Deuteronomy
8:2-3a
God does this in my life. He allows me to hunger so He can feed me. He allows me to ______ so He can __________me. I can fill in these blanks with so many things. God has allowed me to feel pain so He can heal me. He allowed me to feel lonely so He could keep me company.
He allowed me to cry so He could give me comfort. There are so many things I have gone through that in hindsight I can see how God used each and every one of them. He uses them for different reasons, sometimes so I will find Him and ask Him into my life and other times to call me into a new place in my life, or to call me back to Him.
What God doesn’t
do, is to use
these sins and
choices of mine
to punish me. He
never gives me
what I deserve
in regards to my
sin, if He did,
I would be dead.
He is a merciful
God and He gives
me grace, love
and forgiveness.
“He does not
treat us as our
sins deserve or
repay us
according to our
iniquities.”
Psalm 103.10
The other part
of the verse…”to
humble and to
prove you, to
know what was in
your [mind and]
heart, whether
you would keep
His commandments
or not.”
Deuteronomy 8
I believe it is
in our trials
that our true
character shows.
Some people I
have known go
right back to
their former
lives when hard
times come. If
they were
addicted to
something in the
past, that’s
right where they
go. Other people
I have known
really press
into God, small
groups and
community when
they encounter
trials. This is
one way for God
to know our true
heart. It’s also
how God develops
us into
maturity.